Rio Police Launch Major Operation To Retake Favela

More than 1,000 heavily armed police officers on Wednesday launched an operation to retake control of a notorious Rio de Janeiro slum from a criminal gang, the military police said on Twitter

Rio de Janeiro, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2022 ) :More than 1,000 heavily armed police officers on Wednesday launched an operation to retake control of a notorious Rio de Janeiro slum from a criminal gang, the military police said on Twitter.

The Jacarezinho favela was the scene last May of the deadliest police operation in Rio's history. It left 28 people dead, some reportedly killed in cold blood.

"The (Rio) state government began a territorial recovery in the Jacarezinho community. Surrounding communities will also be occupied," said the military police alongside pictures of officers dressed in black patrolling the streets.

The force said 1,200 officers were deployed in the favela, considered a bastion of the Comando Vermelho (Yellow Command) criminal group.

The situation seemed calm and there were no reports of "shoot-outs" between authorities and gangs, military police spokesman Ivan Blaz told local media, adding that the operation was "necessary."The operation is part of a government programme -- Integrated City -- aimed at transforming Rio state communities at the mercy of criminal gangs and drug-traffickers, Governor Claudio Castro said on Twitter.

"It took months to design a programme that would change the lives of the people, giving them dignity and opportunity. The operations are just the beginning of this transformation that goes far beyond security," said Castro.